Help Sara Recover from Moyamoya Surgery

Hello! My name is Sara and I just had double neuro-vascular surgery on 11/30 and 12/2/2021. In June, I was diagnosed with Moyamoya Disease. This is a rare disease, where the carotid, or middle cerebral arteries in the brain, naturally thicken and close up, reducing blood flow to the front of the brain. Small and fragile collateral vessels are formed to supplement blood flow. Moyamoya patients have a high risk of stroke and brain bleeds. A bypass from the temporal artery to the diseased artery is the best treatment. I needed to have both sides by-passed. Lucky me! My mom says I'm a unicorn.

I was lucky enough to be diagnosed by a migraine specialist here in Phoenix and saw a neurologist at Barrow Neurological Institute. That doctor told me to go on a Mediterranean diet and walk 30 minutes a day. Fortunately, my mom and I had a flight scheduled to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD for a second opinion. There, they confirmed the Moyamoya disease was genetic. Nothing like being fat shamed for something you were born with.

I went back to Johns Hopkins in September for an arteriogram and MR/CT perfusion scans to see if I had already had a stroke. The good news was that I hadn't. The bad news was the neurosurgeon there told me to come back when I was more symptomatic, AKA: had a stroke.

The neurovascular surgeon here at Barrow Neurological Institute didn't want to wait for me to have a stroke and scheduled me right away for surgery. The 1st surgery took just under 5 hours and the 2nd surgery took almost 6 hours. My arteries were petite!

Neurosurgery is very costly and with needing both sides repaired, I spent 6 days in the hospital: 4 nights in ICU and 2 in a regular room. This is a hard thing for me to do, but I am asking for prayers and financial help from my friends and family. Please do not feel bad if you are unable to donate, your prayers and love are truly valued.